[Balogh]

Eva used this Model 8 for her suicide attempt in 1932.

The sources are not consistent, but it sounds plausible that she carried out her first two suicide attempts to attract Hitler's attention in order to get closer to him. As a young woman aged 20, she had probably no weapon of her own, but used the one of her father. It could have been a Browning or another make, but it's more or less certain that it was a .25 gun.

 

[03hemi]

I guess we'll never know for sure about Hitler's demise until after our own death?

 

[Dieter H. Marschall]

Now I've also read the English translation and I have to admit that in some places it can only be understood with thought and combination.
For such an extensive German text, however, I will continue to use Google Translate in the future, because I am not a professional translator and do not have the time for such a translation, but rather go hunting or take care of family, house and garden.

Hello,
I usually use "DeepL", if I need to translate tests into other languages. And I am very happy with it.
Best wishes,
Dieter H. Marschall.

 

[GeMor]

Hello,
I usually use "DeepL", if I need to translate tests into other languages. And I am very happy with it.
Best wishes,
Dieter H. Marschall.

Thanks for the hint.
Is it possible to enter a web address in addition to a written text at DeepL so that this website is automatically translated?
This is possible with Google Translate and is a quick and easy option for a user - but apparently with losses in terms of translation, as can be seen from the example of the Spiegel website.

 

[Kar98]

Thanks for the hint.
Is it possible to enter a web address in addition to a written text at DeepL so that this website is automatically translated?
This is possible with Google Translate and is a quick and easy option for a user - but apparently with losses in terms of translation, as can be seen from the example of the Spiegel website.

Just become fluent in both German and English and you’re good to go! 🧐

 

[GeMor]

Just become fluent in both German and English and you’re good to go! 🧐

Since you speak both languages fluently, it is an easy and appropriate task for you to quickly translate the Spiegel article into better English and then post it here. 😄

 

[Dieter H. Marschall]

Thanks for the hint.
Is it possible to enter a web address in addition to a written text at DeepL so that this website is automatically translated?
This is possible with Google Translate and is a quick and easy option for a user - but apparently with losses in terms of translation, as can be seen from the example of the Spiegel website.

No, with DeepL you fill in a text using "copy and paste" ....

 

[Depenau]

All that is missing here is a discussion of the Autobahn

 

[GeMor]

All that is missing here is a discussion of the Autobahn

LOL.
If you like, we can start that discussion immediately. I drive almost 20,000 kilometers on the Autobahn every year. 😄
Sorry, I couldn't help but make this comment, but I promise it's also my last OT post on this topic.

 

[Absalom]

A highly engraved, gold washed PP was also found in a wall safe, and auctioned for over $100k. It was a birthday present from the Walther family to the dictator on his 50th birthday. It's whereabouts are now unknown.

To come back to the original post, I believe this pistol is still around and pops up periodically in auctions. I don‘t know how far the provenance as a gift from Walther has been verified. I vaguely remember something that this was one of the items found in Munich in 1945.

 

[Shepherd]

The provenance is good on this PP.
It was given to Hitler on his 50th birthday by the Walther family.

 

[halfmoonclip]

I guess we'll never know for sure about Hitler's demise until after our own death?

A late buddy had a list of things to ask St. Peter at the Pearly Gates; we elaborated on it over beers.
"Who really killed Kennedy" was on the list, as well as questions about Hitler's demise.
You've got your answers now, boyo!
Moon

 

[pilkguns]

If you are interested in Nazi presentation guns and their associated fakes this a good place to start

Legit pre-1945 engraved Walthers. - P 38 & PP-PPK Collector Forum

Legit pre-1945 engraved Walthers. All PP & PPK - World War 2

p38forum.com

 

[Poloberst]

Hello all,
This article "Trophäen des Sieges" in "Der Spiegel" 5/1999 was actually researched by my late friend Joachim Görtz and me. It was, however, then published under Georg Bönischs's name, as he worked for "Der Spiegel". Achim and I simply did not want to read our names in this article.
Best wishes,
Dieter H. Marschall.

Also, members of the National Automatic Pistol Collectors Association were involved in which Joachim was a member. In 1998, when the pistols were first offered by the US dealer, the documentation provided was obviously faked as the serial number was not in accord with the date of the SS communication. I personally contacted the dealer regarding the documents and he expressed ignorance. Klaus Schad got involved and contacted Joachim. The entire affair radically changed the procedures at Bundesarchiv Koblenz.

The beautiful Walther PP gift from the Walther family was authenticated by a member of Hitler’s entourage when it first appeared in the US decades ago. it was not in the treasure trove of Hitler gifts that had been found in the basement of the Fuhrerbau in Munich that included the gold plated Menz in the West Point Museum as well as jewelry and the famous silver-amber salver prepared for the 1939 PL shooting match which would have been held at the 1939 Reich Party Days in September if not for the start of WWIi.

 

[Absalom]

....

The beautiful Walther PP gift from the Walther family was authenticated by a member of Hitler’s entourage when it first appeared in the US decades ago. it was not in the treasure trove of Hitler gifts that had been found in the basement of the Fuhrerbau in Munich

Ah. That‘s what I was thinking of earlier. But it appears the story with the Walther birthday pistol is that it was found in Hitler‘s appartment, Prinzregentenplatz 16 in München. I don‘t think he stayed there much, if at all, once the war started. That‘s where Lee Miller took a bath in Hitler‘s Badewanne in 1945

 

[Poloberst]

Yes. I think the supposed true story has emerged again somewhere on the net. Apparenlty the confusion started with the description used in the first sale of the pistol on the Mohawk Auction, that correctly identified the place of acquisition as Prinzregentenplatz 16 in München, but mistakenly called it the Führerbau instread of Hitler's apartment. I only know when I first started collecting in 1970, another local collector gave me copies of photographs of that pistol taken at the Wichita police laboratory in the mid 1960s.

 

[lk1940]

What I've read over the years was that Hitler had a PPK in .32 ACP that he used to kill himself with and that both he and Eva had a Wather Model 8 in .25 ACP. Eva used this Model 8 for her suicide attempt in 1932. I've seen pictures of Hitler carrying the PPK on his belt while visiting troops in Poland in 1939.

Hitler hated the bling and ostentatious display of wealth that Goering was known for so I've always been sceptical of these engraved and gold plated pistols that purportedly belonged to him. Even if he was given one I suspect that he would've regifted it to someone else. However, I have read one anecdote that if true leads me to believe that his PPK was verchromt.

That Spiegel article that has been cited in this thread says that a Walther factory representative confirmed that a special gold-plated pistol was made for Hitler, and that later Hitler presented it to the famous Luftwaffe ace, Werner Moelders, to celebrate his 101st aerial victory. FYI, Moelders was a Luftwaffe super-star in the early years of the war, being the first ace to score over 100 kills, as well as an exemplary personality (Catholic and never a Nazi party member) and role model. He received the highest award, the Diamonds to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, but was killed in an airplane crash in 1941. In the post-war West German armed forces, there was a jet fighter squadron named "Jadgeschwader Moelers."